


Unlike Anything Seen Before

by Luna_Myth



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Historical, Episode: s11e01 The Woman Who Fell to Earth, First Meetings, Found Family, Gen, POV Third Person Limited, Post-Regeneration (Doctor Who), References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:14:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28378296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna_Myth/pseuds/Luna_Myth
Summary: A goddess falls from Gallifrey and lands near the forest that's patrolled by Guardswoman Yasmin Khan, leaving Yaz, Ryan, and Graham to figure out who the unknown deity could be.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan & Graham O'Brien & Ryan Sinclair, Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	Unlike Anything Seen Before

It wasn’t everyday something fell from the sky, but Yasmin Khan had been waiting patiently. 

Technically, her job wasn’t just to look out for falling objects. As a junior member of the guard, she was supposed to watch for any suspicious or criminal activity and to assist civilians in interpersonal matters, usually land disputes, but the vast majority of the time, there wasn’t anything to do but wait for either of those events to occur. If she kept at it long enough, she was hoping to be assigned to a more prestigious position as a palace guard or even at the city gates, but currently she was assigned to an unimportant patch of countryside on the outskirts of the city. 

And that was why, when a brilliant streak appeared in the sky and hurtled toward the ground some distance away, Yaz felt as if she had been waiting for it. The impact created a boom loud enough to rustle the trees around where she stood, and a wave of golden light washed over the hillside like nothing Yaz had ever seen before. 

Clearly this qualified as something she should look into. She turned and looked at the person next to her, a young man named Ryan Sinclair who had crashed his chariot into these woods. She had known him a bit as a youth since they had both been educated in the same place, but she hadn’t seen him in a while and was surprised to find him here of all places. 

“I’m going to go check that out,” she told him, pointing with her torch. “You want to come with?” 

“Yeah, definitely,” said Ryan, peering through the trees in the general direction of the crash. “We can take my chariot, if you drive. Least I can do since you helped me calm down the horses and untangle everything.” 

“Brilliant.” Yaz untied the reins of the chariot from a nearby tree and got into position as the driver. She handed Ryan the torch and he took the side position, where in combat a warrior would have stood if they had been going into battle or even entering a race. Instead, Yaz steered them down the dirt path and out of the woods at a quick but responsible pace, heading toward the site of the impact. 

As they approached, it became clear what they were heading to because the site was illuminated by more flickering golden light, a surprising point of brightness glowing in the night. Whatever had fallen from the sky appeared to be lighting up its crater, or perhaps the whole thing was still on fire. Yaz pulled the horses and the chariot to a stop a few meters away. 

“D’ya mind holding the reins for me while I check this out, Ryan?” she asked, taking back her torch, although with the light from the crater she wasn’t sure she needed it. 

Ryan shook his head. “Not at all. Be careful, though, yeah?” 

He took hold of the reins, and Yaz started toward the edge of the crater, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the golden light. What she saw inside nearly made her drop her torch in surprise. 

When she’d seen the streak of light falling from the heavens, a few ideas of what it could be had come to mind. The simplest and most obvious possibility was that it was a meteor--a simple chunk of rock or metal burning its way through the atmosphere. A more fantastical part of Yaz had hoped it was something cast off of Gallifrey by a god, perhaps an abandoned shield or discarded invention of some kind. It had been known to happen occasionally. 

What she saw in the crater instead was a person. A woman with shoulder-length blonde hair lay unconscious in the center, her eyes closed but crackling bolts of golden energy flashing around her. She was wearing a white tunic and a pitch-black cloak, both clearly finely-made but ill-fitting, as if they were made for someone much taller. Despite this, the tunic only came to the middle of her calf, suggesting that where it was supposed to fall was around the knee, as in a traveller’s costume. 

“Hello?” Yaz called out, unsure what to do or whether to approach considering the bolts of energy. 

The woman’s eyes opened. All of the energy that had been jumping around the crater instead seemed to concentrate itself in her glowing golden eyes, visible even from where Yaz was standing at the edge of the crater. In the light of the torch and the stars, Yaz watched the stranger sit up and look around, the golden glow flickering out briefly as she blinked. 

“Are you okay?” asked Yaz, and without realizing it she had begun to descend into the crater, drawn in by curiosity and some other unknown force. 

The woman turned to her, eyes still glowing. “Hello,” she said, and just like that, the glow began to fade, until Yaz was left staring at a pair of very pretty but otherwise perfectly normal brown eyes. She blinked in confusion. 

“Are you okay?” she repeated, for lack of a better idea. 

“Who, me?” asked the woman, who Yaz could only assume was a goddess. “Don’t know.” Her voice was entirely unconcerned by this. 

“Well, you were glowing,” Yaz informed her. “Is that normal?” 

“Fairly normal for me, yeah.” The woman tilted her head and winced. “Don’t know how I know that. Head’s sort of fuzzy at the moment. I’ve still got one of those, yeah? I mean, I must do, I’m talking with it. What’s your name?” 

“Uh, I’m Yasmin Khan,” Yaz answered, trying to keep up. “Most people call me Yaz, though.” 

“Good to meet you, Yaz.” The woman tried to stand up and nearly fell over again before finding her balance. “Bit shaky still. Did I fall from the sky?” She craned her neck directly up to peer at the heavens and stumbled a second time, almost tripping into Yaz before catching herself. 

“Yes, you did,” said Yaz, holding the torch out of the way. “Are you a goddess?” She felt obligated to ask. 

“Don’t know,” said the woman again. “Am I?” She squinted down at herself. “Suppose I am! That’s nice. Don’t think I was earlier.” 

Yaz thought about this and decided not to question it. “I’m not trying to be rude,” she began, “but which goddess are you? What’s your name? Who are you?” 

“Ah,” said the goddess. “Those are all different questions, but the short answer is--I don’t remember. Sorry.” When Yaz stared at her in disbelief, she hastened to add, “I’m sure it’ll come back to me! Changing forms, regenerating, it just takes a minute for everything to get back in the right places. The answer’s on the tip of my tongue, but it’s just not happening right now.” 

As if to prove her point, the goddess stuck out her tongue and furrowed her brow, evidently trying to remember her name or title, before shaking her head and giving up. 

“Right.” Yaz looked up at the lip of the crater where presumably Ryan was still waiting. “Do you want to get out of this pit now?” 

“Would love to, thanks.” The goddess looked over Yaz, seemingly comprehending her appearance for the first time, and said, “Lead the way, Guardswoman Khan.” 

Yaz started to lead the way out of the crater, torch out in front. “How did you know I’m a guard?” 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the nameless goddess shrug. “You’re dressed like one.” 

“And you’re dressed like a traveller,” Yaz replied. “Don’t suppose that helps you narrow down who you are?” 

“Doesn’t help me with a name, but good of you to notice,” said the goddess cheerfully. “I’m definitely a traveller. I’ve been around a bit. Well, not this version of me, but still. Speaking of”--Yaz noticed a haze of golden energy was building around her again--”don’t think this new form is quite done yet. Pretty impressive impact crater here. Gonna take a bit to recover.” 

Her voice was becoming increasingly strained as they climbed the last few meters out of the pit, and by the time they reached the top, the goddess looked distinctly unsteady. Her eyes were glowing again, not just the irises but in their entirety, which made it difficult to tell what direction she was looking or even if she could see anything at all. 

“Whoa.” Ryan was staring at them as they emerged from the crater, and he wasn’t alone. He’d been joined from somewhere by an older man who Yaz didn’t recognize. The two of them looked as if they’d been having a conversation. 

“Found a goddess,” Yaz announced. “She’s what fell from the sky.” 

Ryan looked if anything even more surprised. The older man raised his eyebrows, seemingly withholding judgement for the moment. 

“Hi,” said the goddess, still glowing. “Who are you two, then?” 

“Yeah, Ryan, who’d you find?” asked Yaz, looking at the unknown man. 

“Oh, my name’s Graham,” the man said, shuffling forward slightly. “Graham O’Brian. I live just over there. Heard the explosion, wanted to see what all the fuss is about. I was looking for Ryan, as well. He was supposed to have shown up at my place by now.” 

“Got distracted by the goddess falling from the sky, apparently,” Ryan said tersely. “Also I crashed the chariot. I’m Ryan Sinclair, by the way.” The last bit was directed at the goddess, who nodded in understanding. 

“Excellent. Good,” she said. “Nice to meet you both. I’d introduce myself, but I’m afraid I don’t remember who I am at the moment. And I think this window of consciousness is closing. I’ll have to get back to you. Sorry about this.” 

The golden light condensed around her and then suddenly went out. The goddess collapsed on the ground, unconscious once again. As Yaz watched, a ribbon of golden energy ran from her head to her feet and then dispersed. Everyone was silent. 

“Should we move her, do you think?” Ryan had handed the reins of the chariot to Graham and stepped closer to Yaz and the goddess. “I mean, we can’t just leave her here, right? That would be really rude. And she might get upset with us. I don’t want anybody from Gallifrey mad at me.” 

“Agreed,” said Yaz. “I’m just not entirely sure it’s safe to touch her. She keeps glowing.” 

“We can take her to my house,” Graham offered. “It’s just over there, like I said. Sorry, I haven’t gotten your name yet, Guardwoman…?” 

“Khan.” Yaz edged forward and nudged the unconscious goddess with her foot. Nothing happened. “Yasmin Khan. I know Ryan from school. How do you know him?” 

“He married my gran,” Ryan interrupted, bending down to take one of the goddess’s arms. Yaz stuck the torch into the ground and got into position across from him to help. “She’s also at the house. You’ll like her, Yaz. She’s great.” 

Together they each draped an arm across their shoulders and pulled the goddess up until she was hanging between them, her feet dragging on the ground. By unspoken agreement they carried her over to the chariot and gently propped her up inside its basket. She was smaller than Yaz had expected a goddess to be, within an inch or two of her own height, really. She didn’t currently look or feel any different than a regular mortal, but there was no mistaking her divine origins, especially not when another band of golden light ran its way across her form. 

Yaz felt somewhat awestruck. 

“I reckon someone should get on there and make sure she doesn’t slip,” Graham said, coming over to examine the chariot, “and someone else has to steer, but is there enough room for whoever’s left over?” 

“You can drive, Yaz can hold her, and I’ll walk,” said Ryan simply. “You know the way, it being your house and all, and Yaz talked to her the longest. I don’t mind walking. Sounds better than trying to balance on the chariot with all of you, anyway. And I’ll carry the torch.” 

Yaz couldn’t think of any reason to argue with that. Graham took point as the driver, and she climbed up onto the chariot beside the goddess. Ryan waited patiently beside them as Graham encouraged the horses to set off at a leisurely pace. To Yaz’s surprise, they obliged with no complaint. 

“I used to be a charioteer in the city, you know,” Graham said proudly. “I drove people around for many years and did an excellent job, if I do say so myself.” 

Ryan rolled his eyes as he walked beside them. “He’s always on about this.” 

“I was saying it for Yaz’s benefit,” he replied stubbornly, eyes strictly ahead for safety reasons. “And how’s our passenger down there, eh, Guardswoman Khan?” 

“No change.” She was crouched with one hand holding onto the chariot and the other on the goddess’s shoulder, and the goddess herself was still slumped against the wall of the chariot’s basket, her chin to her collar and her straight blonde hair shading her face. Every so often, that ribbon of light would pass over her, and Yaz felt it as a burst of warmth in her hand. It was not unpleasant. “So who do you two think she is?” 

“Not sure,” said Ryan. “You talked to her down in the crater. She didn’t give you any hints?” 

“Not really,” said Yaz. “She seemed pretty out of it. She’s dressed like a traveller, but the clothes don’t really look like they fit her. I’m not sure what to make of it.” 

“I don’t know any traveller gods that fit her description, but then again, they change forms, don’t they?” Graham continued to look straight ahead as he talked. “She could be someone we’ve heard of, just with a new look. Wonder why she fell from the sky, though. Get into a fight up on Gallifrey, do you think?” 

“Whatever happened, she fell hard enough to forget her name,” Yaz pointed out. “I didn’t know that could happen to gods. Figured they had perfect memories.” 

Ryan shrugged. “Mortals don’t interact with the gods too much. Maybe we don’t know as much about them as we think.” His eyes flicked over to the sleeping goddess in the chariot. “I hope she’s not mad about us touching her. I just thought it would’ve been worse to leave her there. She doesn’t seem to be doing great at the moment.” 

“Let’s see you fall from the sky and see how you’d be doing,” Yaz said, grinning. 

“I think I’ll pass on that one.” Ryan put a hand to his brow and squinted. “That’s the house over there.” 

-0-

It took a bit of work, but between Yaz and Ryan lifting and Graham holding the door, they managed to get the goddess into the house and safely onto a couch. She still had not woken up, but the intensity and frequency of the ribbons of light had increased, although what that meant Yaz had no idea. The nameless goddess’s face was creased slightly in distress, like she was having a bad dream. 

Whatever gods had nightmares about, Yaz wasn’t sure she wanted to know. 

Yaz, Ryan, and Graham were still theorizing without much success about who the goddess could be when she woke up a few hours later. 

“Hello again,” she said, startling Yaz enormously. “Very nice of you all to have brought me here. You didn’t run into any trouble, did you?” 

“Trouble?” Yaz walked over to get a closer look at the goddess, who was now sitting up on the couch looking around. “No, we didn’t. Did you think we were going to?” 

“Well, now, I thought there was a chance my fall might’ve attracted more than just you lot and they probably wouldn’t be half so nice, but it looks like everything’s worked out okay.” The goddess stood up, less shaky than before, and said, “By the way, I’m--” 

Her brow furrowed, and she stamped her foot in frustration. “No, lost it again. It’ll happen at some point. In the meantime, mind if I look around your house?” She was already wandering off into the kitchen, seemingly very interested in everything around her. 

“It’s not my house,” said Yaz, following her. “It’s Graham’s. I’m just here because I’m curious about you.” 

The goddess looked up from where she was examining a cup. “What are you curious about, Yasmin Khan?” 

“Who you are, why you fell from the sky, what you’re up to now.” Yaz ticked the items off on her fingers. “It’s not everyday I get to meet a goddess.” 

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” she replied, setting down the cup and starting to study a series of utensils. “Trust me, I’ve met plenty of goddesses. Mortals are much more interesting.” 

Yaz gave an indignant huff. “That’s easy for you to say. You  _ are _ a goddess. What about those of us stuck down here on Earth?” 

“Would you like to go somewhere else?” The goddess spun a spoon around her fingers and almost dropped it. “I’m sure I can make that happen for you. Consider it a thank you gift for getting me out of that crater.” 

Ryan and Graham had come into the kitchen to watch, and now Ryan spoke up. “We helped too,” he said. “If you’re handing out thank you gifts, I’d like in please.” 

“Yes, of course.” The goddess smiled for the first time, and Yaz’s heart skipped a beat. She might’ve looked mortal at the moment, but she was still rather pretty, in a way that couldn’t be faked nor replicated. In ill-fitting clothes and without having even touched her hair since falling to Earth, something about her made Yaz unable to look away. She was like a force of nature, beautiful to look at in the way a waterfall or lightning or a forest fire was. 

“I haven’t forgotten you and Graham,” she was saying as Yaz tuned back in. “I’m not one to forget a face. Normally pretty good memory, falling from the sky aside. Speaking of faces, though”--she pocketed the spoon she was playing with and turned toward Yaz and the others--”I haven’t seen mine yet. Do any of you have a mirror?” 

Yaz exchanged a three-sided look of confusion with Ryan and Graham, not least because she hadn’t been aware the goddess’s tunic had pockets before now. 

“Er, this way, then.” Graham gestured for everyone to follow him. “There’s one on Grace’s vanity, but she’s asleep right now. I’ll go in and get it.” 

Yaz and the others followed him back into the living room and waited for him to return from a room closed by a door on the far wall Yaz hadn’t noticed before. 

“Who’s Grace?” asked the goddess, now looking over the hearth. She seemed loathe to stop moving, Yaz thought. “Didn’t know there was somebody else here.” 

“That’s my gran’s name,” Ryan answered, burying his hands in the fabric of his tunic. “This is her and Graham’s house. I was coming to visit, and Yaz just happened to be in the area.” 

The goddess turned around, mouth already open to say something in response, when the door opened and Graham reappeared, holding a hand mirror. 

“Oh brilliant,” she said instead, striding over to meet him halfway. “Thanks, Graham. Let’s see what we’ve got this time.” 

She held up the mirror in front of her face and studied herself, tilting her head carefully this way and that as if trying to make sure she was seeing everything. Yaz couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but the goddess squinted her eyes and stuck out her tongue before nodding in satisfaction. She handed the mirror back to Graham. 

“Yeah, this’ll work,” she said. “In answer to your earlier question, Yaz, I’m a traveler looking for my ride. I say that, it’s also one of my items of power. I don’t suppose any of you have seen it around here?” 

Once again, Yaz exchanged a look with Ryan and Graham. “Haven’t seen anything item-of-power-y, no,” Graham said as the other two shook their heads. “Can help you look for it tomorrow, if you want.” 

“I’d be down for that,” said Ryan. 

“I’d also like to help, but not right now,” Yaz agreed. “We’d have better luck in the morning when it’s light out anyway.” 

“Fair,” the goddess acknowledged. “It’s what, eleven at night?” She tilted her head as if listening to something and nodded to herself. “Eleven-thirteen  _ post meridiem _ . Are you all going to bed then?” 

“That’s the plan,” said Yaz. “Assuming Graham is letting us all stay.” 

“‘Course I am,” he said. “Ryan was already supposed to stay over, and I’m not about to force a guardswoman and a goddess out into the wilderness at what is evidently 11:13 pm. Of course you all can stay over. We’re going to check for this item of power together tomorrow anyway, aren’t we?” 

“I also think we should get her”--Yaz lifted her chin toward the goddess--”new clothes if she’s planning on hanging around on Earth for a while.” 

The goddess blinked in surprise and looked down at herself again. “Ah, good catch. I would like to stay on Earth for a bit, now you mention it. Great place, Earth. One of my favorite places. And it is about time I had a costume change.” 

“Right, well, if that’s settled, I’m going to bed.” Ryan stretched his arms over his head and started off down the hallway. “Good night, everyone. Nice meeting you, nameless goddess. Keep working on that remembering thing, yeah?” 

Ryan disappeared through a doorway, and Yaz smirked with amusement. 

“It’s not for lack of trying,” the goddess murmured, pulling out the spoon from her pocket. “Been a bit busy with some other things. You want the couch, Yaz? I’ll be good on sleep for a while now.” 

“Sure, thanks.” Yaz blew out the candles in the living room, leaving just the embers in the hearth. “What are you going to be doing then?” 

The goddess twirled the spoon around her fingers, successfully this time. “I have a few ideas.” 

-0-

The marketplace was fairly crowded, but nobody looked twice at Yaz or the others as they headed for one of the clothing tents. Despite appearances, the goddess was good at fitting in among mortals, which made Yaz suspect she spent a lot of time here and not on Gallifrey. She still hadn’t told them her name, but first thing in the morning she had shown everyone in the house, including the previously unmet Grace, some contraption she had created in the night. 

“Look!” she’d said, brandishing a short rod of some kind in her right hand. It appeared to be mostly made of metal and had intricate designs carved into it the likes of which Yaz had never seen before. “Made this last night from some spoons. And some other things, but mostly spoons. I call it a sonic screwdriver.” 

“What does it do?” Ryan had asked curiously. 

“Lots of things.” The goddess had then proceeded to point the device at some candles and used it to ignite and extinguish them from a distance. 

“Oh, so it’s like a magic wand,” Yaz had said, looking on with interest. 

The goddess had been surprised at that. “Yeah, I suppose you could call it that. Mostly it’s just useful. I try to never leave home without it, but these things happen sometimes.” 

Yaz was still thinking about the exchange and who the goddess could be as the group arrived at the clothing tent. Some gods, mostly powerful ones, were known for having magic wands or similar items of power, but Yaz had never heard of one being called a  _ sonic screwdriver _ before. Between that and the power of the golden energy that had surrounded the goddess when she fell, an interesting picture of who she could be was forming, but Yaz still couldn’t figure it out. 

Inside the clothing tent, various fabrics were folded and arranged on makeshift tables pushed against the canvas walls. While Graham and Ryan talked to the merchant, Yaz waited by a dressing screen in the back corner, watching as the goddess flitted around examining the stacks of clothes with a critical eye. She seemed to be very particular, but after about ten minutes, she had selected a tunic and a cloak and had come back over to Yaz. 

“Let’s give this a try,” she said, stepping behind the dressing screen. A few moments later, she stepped out again. 

The goddess had chosen a light blue hooded cloak and a dark blue tunic, both of which fit her much better than what she had been wearing before. They both hit around the knee, in keeping with Yaz’s conception of the goddess as a traveller or otherwise someone prone to running, but the tunic was tied around the waist with a belt, and two decorative pins fastened it at the shoulders. The effect of it all was unusual and charming. 

Yaz couldn’t resist a smile. “You look nice,” she said. 

“It’s a good match, don’t you think?” The goddess pulled the sonic screwdriver from somewhere in the cloak. “And look, it’s got pockets.” She seemed very pleased with herself. 

“Don’t know how you keep doing that, but yeah, it does.” Yaz couldn’t help finding the goddess’s actions as charming as her appearance and she could hear it in her own voice. “Are you ready to go?” 

“Yeah, and I’ve got some ideas where we can search for my item of power, too,” she said, hiding her hands in her new cloak and moving to join Ryan and Graham near the front of the tent. Yaz walked with her. 

Suddenly there was an uproar from outside the tent. The general hum of people, which had been present in the background the whole time, changed to a rumble of fear and confusion, and the canvas flaps of the tent shook as people scurried past them. Yaz’s head jerked toward the sound of the commotion, and she hurried to the exit to see what was happening as people outside began screaming. 

The goddess, Ryan, and Graham were with her. “What’s going on?” asked Ryan, sticking his head out the tent flap with her. 

Yaz had opened her mouth to answer when the goddess brushed past her and came to stand just outside the tent. 

“Oh, that’s no good,” she said, staring at something Yaz couldn’t see with her hands on her hips. 

Yaz and the others followed her outside. In the midst of the crowd of people stood a figure unlike anything Yaz had seen before, which was evidently starting to become a bit of a theme. While possessing approximately the same arrangement of limbs as a human, this figure’s whole body was a rough-textured dark blue. Yaz couldn’t tell if it had skin or scales, but it covered itself only with a swath of brown fabric stretching from around the torso to above the knee, leaving the chest and head bare. Sharp black claws ended its splayed fingers, and inhuman fangs gleamed in its open mouth. 

“A daemon?” Yaz asked the goddess shakily. 

She nodded grimly. “A Stenza specifically. Spirit of slaughter and the hunt. Basically they represent the killing of innocents, anybody who really didn’t deserve it or was killed for arbitrary reasons. Unfortunately that boils down to most people killed in combat these days. You mortals haven’t fought a necessary war in a long time in my opinion.” 

Before anyone could respond to that, the goddess stepped forward again. Most of the people in the marketplace had cleared out by now, but the daemon hadn’t moved, standing growling in the center of everything like it was waiting for something. 

“Hey, Stenza, just what do you think you’re doing here?” The goddess was staring directly at the combat spirit, looking unimpressed. “We’re not exactly on a battlefield right now. Why don’t you go someplace more suited to you and your hobbies?” 

The Stenza made a low hissing noise that might’ve been a laugh. “And who are you to offer suggestions to the next leader of the Stenza?” He then said something that might’ve been his name, but Yaz couldn’t decipher it. 

“I--” The goddess’s eyes flashed briefly. ”--don’t actually remember right now, but that’s not important. You should leave this place alone, Tim Shaw.” 

The Stenza hissed again, and this time it definitely wasn’t laughing. “That’s not my name. I am Tzim-Sha, and as future leader of my people I may hunt where I please. No puny goddess such as you can stop me.” 

A expression of exasperation crossed the goddess’s face. “Oh, go back to where you came from, why don’t you?” She pulled out the sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the daemon. Crackling light encased its form, and the Stenza vanished without trace. 

Yaz blinked in surprise and found herself walking forward to stand beside the goddess without realizing it. “What just happened?” she asked, looking at the goddess with amazement. 

“I sent him back to where he came from,” she answered, putting the wand away. “Just reversed his position. Pretty basic stuff, really.” 

Graham and Ryan followed Yaz out of the clothing tent, looking somewhat sheepish. “I’ve seen more basic,” Graham offered. “You’re really something else, aren’t you? You’re really proper from, you know...up there.” He shot a reverent glance skyward and gestured vaguely up. 

The unknown goddess grinned. “Wait until you see my item of power. That’s what tends to really impress people. Come along, team. Gang. Fam?” She stopped from where she had been wandering off and turned around to look at Yaz and the others. “Might keep workshopping that. But you all are coming, right?” 

“Course,” said Yaz, still ahead of the others. “I’m not about to leave now.” She came to stand beside the goddess again, studying her with continued interest. “It’ll take more than one combat spirit to scare me out of this adventure.” She flashed a brief smile. The feeling that she had been waiting for this moment hadn’t left her since she saw the goddess fall from the sky, and she didn’t have the strength of will in her to leave while that feeling remained. 

“I don’t go back on my agreeing to help people,” said Ryan. He loped after Yaz and the goddess. “And we were promised an impressive item of power, yeah?” He was smiling in a way that suggested he was teasing. 

Graham picked up on it. “Yeah, we certainly couldn’t go leaving now without seeing this item of power we’ve heard so much about,” he said, coming to join the rest of them. “How do we find it, eh?” 

The goddess smiled again, clearly pleased they were all joining her. “I’m glad you asked, Graham, because I’ve been thinking and I think I’ve found us a shortcut.” She started walking away from the marketplace again, gesturing excitedly with her hands as she talked. Yaz and the others followed. “My item of power is linked to me telepathically, so it  _ wants _ me to find it. Now that I’ve got my sonic I can probably rig together a way to tap into that telepathic link to see where it is, no legwork required.”

“Brilliant.” Yaz looked at the goddess, who was still leading them to someplace in the open field near the marketplace. “What’s stopping you?” 

“Right now, all the psychic interference from the people in the marketplace, but we’re just about out of range.” The goddess walked a few more meters until the tents were all but out of sight. “Now I just need some sort of way to focus the telepathy. Yaz, can I borrow your sword?” 

Yaz glanced down at the standard-issue bronze shortsword at her hip and shrugged, detaching it from her belt sheath and all. “Sure, but what are you gonna use it for?” 

“Nothing dangerous,” the goddess replied, which didn’t really answer the question. She pulled the sword from the sheath and began scratching a wide arc into the ground with it, occasionally pulling up plants and tossing aside rocks as she etched a circle into the earth. Smaller, concentric circles went inside of it, with more lines and symbols connecting them, although the grass made it hard to see. Just as Yaz was exchanging looks with Graham and Ryan, wondering how long this was going to take, the goddess stopped and brandished her wand at the circle. Instantly all of the grass inside the circle disappeared, fading away from the top to bottom as if it had never been there at all. Left behind was hard-packed dirt covered in intricate concentric circles and the goddess standing there looking pleased with herself. 

“Broke down the grass on a molecular level,” she explained, not that any of her companions had asked. “It’ll get recycled now, reused by everything else in the field.”

Yaz wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but she and Ryan and Graham stepped forward into the circle curiously, trying to figure out the pattern the goddess had etched into it. It felt familiar in a way Yaz couldn’t describe, as if she’d encountered it before but since forgotten. Primordial, almost, and strangely beautiful. The lines the goddess had carved were glowing faintly, the same golden color as from when she fell to Earth. Yaz was entranced. 

The goddess pointed her wand at Yaz’s sword, and a faint humming noise emanated from the wand as the dirt fell off the sword and its usual bronze gleam returned. She put it back in its scabbard and offered it to Yaz. 

“Should be good as new,” she said. “I sharpened it for you.” 

“Thanks.” Yaz took the sword and returned it to her belt. “What’s all this then?” She was still examining the circle and its strange golden glow.

“It’s a focus I’ve drawn up that should serve as a conduit for telepathy.” The goddess held up her wand again. “Ready to try it out?” The look on her face was mischievous, and before anyone could answer, the tip of the wand lit up and that buzzing sound came from it again. The circle’s glow intensified, there was a brilliant flash of light, and--

Yaz felt her feet leave the ground as her entire field of vision was consumed by the brightness. 

-0-

When her vision cleared, Yaz noticed she was surrounded by trees. The sun was lower in the sky, and she couldn’t spot the tents of the marketplace anywhere. Poplar trees dominated the surrounding landscape, but even they were mostly several meters apart from each other, leaving plenty of room for Yaz and the others to stand. Fallen leaves and scattered bushes dotted the forest floor. 

Yaz just had time to wonder if the goddess had accidentally teleported them instead of merely looking for the location of the item of power when--

The goddess gave an excited cry and ran forward the moment, evidently spotting something Yaz hadn’t. She came to a halt beside a beautiful blue chariot, hand outstretched to touch it. Before Yaz or anyone could ask any questions--like how they had gotten here and what was going on--the goddess’s hand made contact, and there was a quiet whooshing sound followed by a quickly fading glimmer of golden light. 

The goddess was beaming. “Fam,” she said, “this is the TARDIS. She’s my item of power as well as my ship, and she can take us anywhere in the worlds. She has a few more hidden tricks, too, so I promise you won’t be disappointed. Isn’t she fantastic?” 

The blue chariot was indeed impressive, such a brilliant blue it could only have been dyed with lapis lazuli and sporting what appeared to be painstakingly crafted bronze trim. It didn’t look exceptionally strong, but the ground beneath it was blasted away in a crater as if it had fallen to Earth at the same time as its owner, and it seemed no worse for wear. As Yaz watched, its surface shifted and changed, sometimes appearing to be a normal although very blue chariot and other times seeming to have an infinite depth, like there was no surface at all and in its place was a gateway to another world. Stars flickered and flared before going out, and when Yaz looked again, the chariot was back to being opaque. 

Understanding was starting to dawn on Yaz, and she looked nervously from her two fellow humans to the goddess, trying to gauge where they were at. “So if that’s the TARDIS, then you’re--” 

“I’m the Doctor,” said the goddess, a flash of triumph in her countenance. Despite no change in her appearance, her presence suddenly felt much stronger.

Yaz and the others took a step back. 

The Doctor was a bit of a controversial figure in the Gallifreyan pantheon, to put it mildly. Depicted as varying in gender and appearance, they were known as the Face-changer, among other titles. The Oncoming Storm. Destroyer of Worlds. The Victorious One. Reportedly, they had been involved in the Last Great Time War, the latest clash between the gods of Gallifrey and the war spirits of Skaro, but rumours surrounded them theorizing that they were actually something older and stranger than one of the multitude deities of Gallifrey--a primordial being of some sort. Yaz didn’t know how true any of this was, but it was enough that she could feel her heart quickening with shock at the announcement that the pretty but otherwise unexceptional looking being in front of her was the Doctor. 

There were positive stories surrounding the Doctor as well. It was well-known that they were a traveler who spent far more time on Earth with the mortals than on Gallifrey. For every story of destruction told by the gods and the war spirits, there was a story about how the Doctor had helped save humanity, or at least aided them in some way. Numerous human inventions were credited to their influence, and more mortals had claimed to have met the Doctor than any other deity, although rarely were they believed. This contributed to the lack of consistent depiction of the Doctor, as most people who claimed to have met them described them as appearing in a different form than what others had described. Still, the vast majority of stories about the Doctor seemed to imply they harbored a certain affinity for mortals, a genuine appreciation for humanity that most other immortals lacked. 

The one symbol consist to the Doctor in all depictions of them was the TARDIS, usually portrayed as a midnight blue chariot strewn with stars. 

Yaz felt like she’d witnessed a small explosion, her ears ringing at this turn of events. “Wow, um,” she started to say, having to recollect herself, “you’re not what I was expecting.” 

The Doctor tilted her head at her, one hand still on the TARDIS. “Heard of me, have you? Can’t say I’m entirely surprised, but all good things, I hope.” 

Yaz gave a slight shake of her head. “Not entirely.” 

The Doctor turned away to face the TARDIS, leaving half her face in shadow. Her hands started fiddling with some unknown pieces of metal inside the chariot basket. “Ah, well. Guess that’s not a surprise either. But none of you have left yet, so whatever you’ve heard can’t have scared you too badly. That’s good.” 

“You don’t really look like someone who’s been called the ‘Great Exterminator’,” Ryan offered. 

“Right. That. I remember that.” The Doctor finished adjusting the TARDIS and glanced back at the group. “If it makes you feel any better, it was the Daleks who said that. You’d know them as the war spirits of Skaro, and they really hate me, so maybe take that title with a bit of salt.” 

“What about all the other things?” Yaz was staring at the Doctor still. If she was going to figure her out, now seemed the moment. Since she’d first laid eyes on her yesterday, Yaz had been trying to understand who this person was, and with the revelation of her name and titles, she felt she finally had a real shot at it. She knew what she’d witnessed of her, and she knew the stories and legends surrounding the Doctor, so all that was left was to see how the reality lined up with the myth--or at least, to see what the Doctor had to say for herself. 

The goddess nodded in understanding of the challenge. 

“I am very old, and I have done a lot of things in my time,” she began, “but I go by the Doctor for a reason, and that’s because--whatever I have done--I have been trying to help people. Now, admittedly, I haven’t always been the most successful”--here her face went dark--”but I don’t wish harm on you or anybody here. I’m just a traveller, trying to see everything these worlds have to offer and maybe--maybe--do a bit of good while I’m here.” 

As she spoke, the Doctor grew more and more earnest until she was looking Yaz and Ryan and Graham full in the face, her eyes dark and serious. When she finished, she looked away again, her hands falling lifeless to her sides before returning to fiddling with something on the chariot. Yaz felt a fleeting urge to step closer, to offer comfort or reassurance of some kind, before she checked that impulse. 

“Okay,” she said at last. “Well, since I’ve known ya, you’ve been nice. You haven’t changed your mind about any of that, have you?” 

“No, of course not!” The Doctor looked slightly affronted to have been asked. “I’m still on to take you all somewhere, if you still want to go.” 

“Personally, I’m game,” said Graham, stepping forward a bit to glance at Yaz side on. “I believe the Doctor, and it’s not everyday I get the chance to see the worlds. How does this thing work, anyway?” He gestured at the shimmering blue chariot. “It doesn’t have any horses or nothing.” 

The Doctor grinned and stepped to the side, motioning for Graham to approach the TARDIS. “Why don’t you come find out?” she said, evidently very pleased. “I promise the explanation is more effective with a demonstration. Any other takers?” 

“Count me in for sure,” said Ryan, stepping forward as well. “Now you’ve got me curious.” 

“Yaz?” The Doctor was looking at her with those serious dark eyes Yaz had found so pretty upon first meeting, and she could feel her hesitance crumbling. 

She came to stand by the others in front of the TARDIS. “Like Graham said, it’s not everyday you get the chance to see the worlds. Sign me up, Doctor.” 

“Brilliant.” The Doctor was electric with excitement as she directed Yaz, Ryan, and Graham into the basket of the chariot, saying, “You’re gonna love this part.” 

“Whoa.” 

The moment Yaz stepped onto the chariot, her point of view shifted. The space inside the chariot seemed to open up as the world outside of it darkened and faded away, leaving only this vast space inside the confines of the TARDIS walls. Bronze mechanisms adorned a raised platform opposite where they’d come in, and steps and seats circled the edge of the room, presumably for passengers. Strange objects were strewn around the place with no semblance of order, suggesting that they’d been displaced in the crash to Earth, but even then, Yaz wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the place was naturally messy. It had the vibe of being somewhere someone spent a lot of time living and working, which certainly hadn’t been what she expected to find upon entering a chariot that was no more than two meters wide on the outside. 

“What--? How? It’s--” Yaz looked around in astonishment. Ryan and Graham were similarly bewildered. 

“I believe the technical term is ‘bigger on the inside’,” said the Doctor, walking over to the raised platform and leaning against it. She was smiling like this was exactly the response she’d been hoping for. 

“Awesome,” said Ryan. “What’s it look like from the outside, though? Can people see us?” 

“An excellent question, Ryan!” The Doctor pushed off the console and went over to the wall. “The TARDIS looks empty from the outside, but we can still take a peek out if we want.” She tapped the wall twice and a portion of it went transparent, revealing the expected view of poplar trees and forest floor. “I wouldn’t recommend doing that while she’s travelling, though. The time vortex has been known to be disorientating for some people.” 

“Did you just say time vortex?” asked Graham, peeking through the window with Ryan. 

“Didn’t I mention? Travels in time and space. Best vessel in the universe.” The Doctor tapped the wall again, ending the view. She looked exceptionally happy as she said, “It’s good to be back. So. Where to first?” 

“No idea.” Yaz flashed a smile in the Doctor’s general direction. “But I’m down for anything now. Pick a time and place.” 

“Well, there’s this race through the worlds I’ve always wanted to see,” said the Doctor, already adjusting the bronze mechanisms on the platform. “Doesn’t hit Gallifrey or Skaro, which is a plus. Trust me, you don’t want to go to either of them. I believe the finish line is in one of the elemental worlds. Brilliant place, towering cliffs, sparkling deserts, endless skies. Plus, the finale of one of the greatest interdimensional races of all time. Any objections?” 

“None from me,” said Ryan at the same time as Graham said, “Not here.” 

“Alright then, fam.” The Doctor’s hand hovered by a switch. She looked at each of them in turn, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “Let’s go.” She flipped the switch, and golden light engulfed the TARDIS, commencing the start of their journey to elsewhere in time and space. 

**Author's Note:**

> i have more ideas for stories in this universe but idk if i'll do them or not


End file.
